This guy took one of my images, cropped out my watermark, and added his to it.

[link]

I see several other images I suspect are not his, either. Yes, I reported him...but in the meantime, lets remind this knob that it is not so easy to get away with stealing images.

Update: BANNED FROM DA, within 15 minutes! Smackdown!

I think that's a new record...thanks, everyone

Just got back home from an interesting night out...

It was Jessa's birthday party, so of course, that was fun.

The taxi driver that took me to the party is from Morocco...and actually knew who my one-and-only friend from Morocco is. What are the odds of that happening?

I met 7 people tonight who are well-acquainted with my photography...although I never met any of them before tonight. And they were not even part of the b-day party...they were just at the club where the party was being held. It is always kind of surreal, meeting people that are familiar with my work...I guess because of the adulation I am usually treated with. I still don't quite know how to take it, but I am not complaining. It is pretty cool...not gonna lie

In a bit of an experiment to prove how friendly people in Austin are, I counted how many hugs from total strangers I received tonight, just upon introduction. I stopped counting once I reached 20 or so.

I met a beautiful Vietnamese woman who wants to shoot with me very much...turns out, she's been following my work for quite a while, now.

And a short while later, I met a beautiful woman from Minnesota who looked like a combination of Aimee Mann and Kirsten Dunst. I wanted to ask her to shoot with me, but I don't like to approach random people with this question, out of concern that it is reeeeeally easy to take it the wrong way.

So the Vietnamese woman volunteered to be my wing(wo)man, and helped me ask her. Both women now have my card, so let's hope at least one of them contacts me.

Plodding on, I spilled Bourbon on my new camera (luckily, it is weather-sealed, as is the lens), and had 3 or 4 other people spill drinks on me when they leaned in to give a hello/goodbye hug.

I now smell like a distillery

I hardly ever drink as much as I did tonight...but I think I needed it.

I don't even know what the purpose of this journal entry is...there must be something I wanted to say, but it is far-from-clear what that thing might have been. Knowing myself as well as I do, it's most likely something I shouldn't say, anyway, so I'm going to quit while I'm ahead and get some sleep, now. At least there is a 97% chance of a good dream, with all that happened, tonight

During a workshop I was holding a while ago, one of the attendees there asked me for some advice on how to escape from the rut he found himself in...and how to find his artistic side.

At the time he asked me this, we were 5 hours into the workshop, so I had gotten to know him a good bit. Now, I should point out that the workshop was aimed at teaching people how to interact & connect with their subjects...yet all during the day, he was asking nothing but technical questions. SO technical, in fact, that sometimes I simply had no answer.

I later learned that he has a career in network administration & programming. To be honest, I thought it went hand-in-hand with the sterility of his photography (not that everyone who works in an IT field are passionless automatons, mind you...but it made sense, in his case).

So in a continuing effort to understand him, and perhaps awaken the inner artist that remained hidden in him, I started asking what his passions in life were. He thought about it for a while, but honestly couldn't come up with a solid answer.

I then said to him, "Name 5 songs that can bring tears to your eyes".

To which, he said, "I doubt I could even name one".

"Well, there is your problem", I said.

The poor guy simply could not...feel. I cannot even begin to imagine what that Empty Void must be like. I sometimes curse myself for feeling too much...but I wouldn't change that about me. It fuels what I do.

He asked me, "can you name 5 songs that do that?".

I responded with, "I can name hundreds".

Here's my Top-5, as of lately:

1. "There is None", by The Working Title


2. "Matching Weight", by Trespassers William


3. "Put a Record On", by Unkle Bob


4. "Carry Me Ohio", by Sun Kil Moon


5. "Say When", by The Fray

Feel free to share yours
~Jaime

Rather a lot of people (surprisingly) have asked me if I could do a "Moment-in-the-Life" series of video clips, so...welcome to Episode One

This was shot immediately after the "most expensive lunch ever" I mentioned in my last journal entry.

The conversations I have with Jessa always start off intelligently, and quickly devolve into much more silly subjects like this one.

But I'm OK with that

Oh...and you are allowed to make fun of me all you want, by the way. You have preemptive amnesty, with this one



Guy with large head » Me
Girl with tiny head » Jessa

My website was awarded 'Site of the Month' on SlideShowPro.com. The resultant exposure from this has been tremendous, to say the least.



Also, thanks to a recent job I did for an advertising agency in Stockholm, Sweden, I now own a Canon 5D MKII

Kick.

Ass.

I've been using a Canon 5D for several years, now...and it is still very much an awesome camera...but the 5D MKII rewrites the rules, for me.

And it was officially christened today, when I used it to photograph Jessa...of course.

Expect some game-changing things from me in the near future

And on an unrelated note, I had the most expensive lunch ever, today...but it was with Jessa, so it was totally worth it

Oh...and I just received a really nice-write up on this blog: [link]

« Birthday Today

My good friend, Phil Neff...one of the nicest humans I have met. Stop by and say Happy Birthday

He'd probably prefer to not acknowledge it, but we can't let him do that, can we?

What's new with me? Quite a lot, in fact...

Check out my interview on The Nonsense Society Blog: [link]

Upcoming Cover & Feature shoot with well-known fitness model Jamie Eason [link] for South Magazine

New Instructional Videos, addressing several aspects of my photography & editing techniques will be available for purchase...I will release more details very soon.

I will be launching the site for my new CD project, and happily ditching my archaic myspace page...enjoy it, while you can (although the new site is insurmountably better): [link]

And last, but definitely not least, I'm going to be shooting with the amazing Lauren [link] for a week or so...more magic, on the way soon. It's been waaaay too long...see you soon, Tiny One <3

+ = good stuff

Last week, I asked everyone to please vote for my very good friend & constant sidekick (and easily my most photographed model), Jessa Peters, who was participating in Fashion Week, here in Austin, TX.

And, (drum roll, please...) thanks to everyone that supported her by voting, she and I are proud to let you know she WON the People's Choice Award

You guys are awesome...seriously!

She also received coveted nominations in 3 categories that are part of Fashion Week. More results to come, as we learn more after this weekend.

Saying "thank you" seems hardly adequate...but from both me AND Jessa...thank you

Ahh...the community power of DeviantArt. I do love this place



Some of my work with Jessa »
:thumb175028760:

:thumb133070730:
:thumb125183984:
:thumb166284552:

You all know my work with the incredible Jessa Peters



She is currently competing in Austin Fashion Week, and needs your vote!

[link]

just informed me that you can vote once per browser, so if you are feeling particularly enthusiastic, open up Safari, Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Internet Exploder, and whatever else you have. Thanks for the tip, mate

Do it for her...do it for me...do it for the satisfaction you will get, knowing that you helped the best model in Austin, TX rise to the top!

She and I both seriously appreciate it

On Friday, July 16th, I turn 41 years of age.

I have had a very, very interesting life thus-far.

In no certain order...

I have resided in Spain, Australia, Iceland, Turkey, Norway, Thailand, and the USA...and across that stretch, I have lived in over 50 cities...although I never considered any of them "home" until I moved to Austin, TX in 2007.

I estimate that I have moved a grand total of almost 10,000 miles around this planet...all in the pursuit of love. And how ironic it is, that the very thing that has fueled my photography (as well as my music) has eluded me, thus far..but I hold fast to the belief that the only failure is to never have tried.

During my stint in the military, I survived three (no sh*t) airplane crashes (correction...2 "proper" crashes, and 1 runway "mishap", which surprisingly was the only one of the three aforementioned incidents that resulted in fatalities. 3 lives were lost, in that one), I've been shot with an AK-47 assault rifle, and received shrapnel in my back in another incident. After the military, I have survived being stabbed, and I walked away from an automobile crash in which pieces of the radiator had to be removed from my face (to give you an idea of how bad it was).

I should not be here, now. People have told me that I am the Energizer Bunny, reincarnate.

For the majority of my life, I was a terribly shy, socially awkward individual, until I discovered photography at the relatively-late age of 35...and the person I used to be (up until then) was replaced by an entirely new one. You'd never guess that my new self and my old self once shared the same body...but that is the only similarity.

It has been fascinating to witness my own undeniable metamorphosis.

I used to believe that I would one day realize the Celestial Purpose of my existence on this Earth...but it is frustrating to admit that I am no closer to answering this question. I've come to the realization that perhaps the answer is not mine to know...

Years ago, if you had asked me "where do you see yourself at 40?", I would not have even come close to an accurate prediction. I thought by the time I turned 40, all of the unanswered questions in my life would sort themselves out. I figured I'd be earning a pretty good income. I imagined that I would own a house, and a decent vehicle. I thought my career path would be evident.

But wishful thoughts never stopped the thunder that drove my head back to the ground.

None of the aforementioned things have actually happened, but in their absence, I have realized their unimportance to me. I put value into other things. Love...art...music...all of these are more valuable than money to me. It has taught me the kind of person I am, and I find much solace in that.

If I have only learned one thing, it is this: disappointment happens when expectations are not met. And so, I have taught myself to have no expectations. I have dreams, desires, hopes, ambitions, wishes, longings, yearnings...but one should never confuse any of these things with "expectations".

To have expectations is not at all dissimilar from proclaiming I have the ability to see the future...which I do not. The only thing you can expect is that one day, you will in fact die. Unless they invent a cream for that...hey, anything could happen.

I can honestly say that while I am the poorest I have ever been in my adult life, I am the happiest I have ever been. Year after year of chasing what I thought was what I wanted in my life...but what I really wanted was something that I didn't even know existed, until it found me.

Basically, all of this is my very long way of saying "thank you" to everyone here on DA for your support. My unexpected popularity here has been instrumental in developing a name for myself in photography. And outside the bounds of DA, my work has reached untold thousands of people.

I have dreamt of being a photographer for most of my life...and hey, it looks like I have become exactly that. Dream-come-true, achieved.

If I can just get the "finding true love" bit to happen, I'll be a happy man.

So, in the Book of My Life, I now begin Chapter 41.

And here we go...

Behind-the-scenes footage from a recent Steampunk-inspired photo shoot with Jessa and Lauren. I am unable to post any of the actual photos from this shoot, as the UK magazine they were shot for maintains exclusivity of the images for 60 days after the issue goes to print.

At least this way, you can see a bit of what happened during the shoot



» Model » Jessa Peters
» Model » Lauren Calaway
» Photography & Video Editing » Jaime Ibarra

Video Footage - Southside Sons
Wardrobe - Lucy in Disguise - Austin, TX
Location - Austin Enchanted Forest - Austin, TX
Music - "Jinete", from the upcoming CD "Virru"
Composed, Produced, and Performed by Jaime Ibarra

While we have been pushing very hard to meet the original release date of June 29th, "The Art of Location Photography" video has to be moved to July 2nd. Two key sections of the video had to be filmed again, and rather than not include those sections (in order to keep the original release date), we strongly felt the omission of these portions would be detrimental to the overall value of the video, and have moved the release date to July 2nd. We do apologize for the slight delay, but it is important to us that we release a quality product, in keeping with the original parameters we defined in the planning phases of this project.

Thanks so much to everyone that pre-ordered a copy! Your patience is greatly appreciated, while we take the final steps to insure you are receiving a quality video...it's worth the slight delay

UPDATE: We are extending the opportunity for the DA community to pre-order a copy of the new video "The Art of Location Photography". If you pre-order by July 1st, it is yours for half price ($50 USD). After that, it will be sold at the normal $100 USD.

Only 3 days left to purchase at 50% off. Instructions on how to order are the end of this message
___________________________________________________________________

Internationally published photographers Jaime Ibarra and Jean-Philippe Martin have joined forces to produce the first in a series of collaborative instructional videos.

"The Art of Location Photography" is an intense 90-minute teaching session with two masters of the genre, examining and offering solutions to one of the most common obstacles photographers encounter in planning location shoots: finding great locations.

From Jaime, "One of the biggest misconceptions of location photography is thinking you need a tropical island, or an amazing mansion to use as a setting. The fact is, we are all surrounded with an overwhelming amount of interesting places to use as locations...you just need to learn to see them".

And learning to see is exactly what you will be doing. Ibarra and Martin take you on a behind-the-scenes video field trip, and teach you how easy it is, no matter where you are, to find interesting, compelling and beautiful settings for your photographs.

The Art of Location Photography will be released on July 2nd, 2010. The high definition video will be made available as downloadable content, and will include high resolution, before-and-after photos taken at several of the locations featured in the lesson. Also included is an in-depth interview with Ibarra & Martin.

The price of the video is $100 (US), but if you pre-order by July 1st, it is yours for only $50 (US).

*TO PRE-ORDER A COPY: send an email to: ibarraphoto@gmail.com and I will send you a PayPal invoice for $50 USD. Or, if you are comfortable with doing so, you can just send $50 USD to my PayPay email: ibarraphoto@gmail.com

Either way, please make sure you give me a valid email address so I can send you a download link on the release date of July 2nd.

If you have any questions in the interim, send me an email or a note here on DA, and I will get back to you asap.

Thank you!

UPDATE: I am extending the opportunity for the DA community to pre-order a copy of the new video "The Art of Location Photography". If you pre-order by June 28th, it is yours for half price ($50 USD). After that, it will be sold at the normal $100 USD.

Only 2 days left to purchase at 50% off. Instructions on how to order are the end of this message
___________________________________________________________________

Internationally published photographers Jaime Ibarra and Jean-Philippe Martin have joined forces to produce the first in a series of collaborative instructional videos.

"The Art of Location Photography" is an intense 90-minute teaching session with two masters of the genre, examining and offering solutions to one of the most common obstacles photographers encounter in planning location shoots: finding great locations.

From Jaime, "One of the biggest misconceptions of location photography is thinking you need a tropical island, or an amazing mansion to use as a setting. The fact is, we are all surrounded with an overwhelming amount of interesting places to use as locations...you just need to learn to see them".

And learning to see is exactly what you will be doing. Ibarra and Martin take you on a behind-the-scenes video field trip, and teach you how easy it is, no matter where you are, to find interesting, compelling and beautiful settings for your photographs.

The Art of Location Photography will be released on June 29th, 2010. The high definition video will be made available as downloadable content, and will include high resolution, before-and-after photos taken at several of the locations featured in the lesson. Also included is an in-depth interview with Ibarra & Martin.

The price of the video is $100 (US), but if you pre-order by June 28th, it is yours for only $50 (US).

*TO PRE-ORDER A COPY: send an email to: ibarraphoto@gmail.com and I will send you a PayPal invoice for $50 USD. Or, if you are comfortable with doing so, you can just send $50 USD to my PayPay email: ibarraphoto@gmail.com

Either way, please make sure you give me a valid email address so I can send you a download link on the release date of June 29th

If you have any questions in the interim, send me an email or a note here on DA, and I will get back to you asap.

Thank you!

UPDATE: I am extending the opportunity to pre-order a copy of the video to June 10th

Internationally published photographers Jaime Ibarra and Jean-Philippe Martin have joined forces to produce the first in a series of collaborative instructional videos.

"The Art of Location Photography" is an intense 90-minute teaching session with two masters of the genre, examining and offering solutions to one of the most common obstacles photographers encounter in planning location shoots: finding great locations.

From Jaime, "One of the biggest misconceptions of location photography is thinking you need a tropical island, or an amazing mansion to use as a setting. The fact is, we are all surrounded with an overwhelming amount of interesting places to use as locations...you just need to learn to see them".

And learning to see is exactly what you will be doing. Ibarra and Martin take you on a behind-the-scenes video field trip, and teach you how easy it is, no matter where you are, to find interesting, compelling and beautiful settings for your photographs.

The Art of Location Photography will be released on June 29th, 2010. The high definition video will be made available as downloadable content, and will include several high resolution, before-and-after photos from each of the locations featured in the lesson. Also included is an in-depth interview with Ibarra, Martin, and internationally published model, Lauren Calaway.

The price of the video is $100 (US), but if you pre-order by June 10th, it is yours for only $50 (US).

*TO PRE-ORDER A COPY: send an email to: ibarraphoto@gmail.com and I will send you a PayPal invoice for $50 USD. If you have any questions in the interim, send me an email or a note here on DA, and I will get back to you asap.

Thanks

Internationally published photographers Jaime Ibarra and Jean-Philippe Martin have joined forces to produce the first in a series of collaborative instructional videos.

"The Art of Location Photography" is an intense 90-minute teaching session with two masters of the genre, examining and offering solutions to one of the most common obstacles photographers encounter in planning location shoots: finding great locations.

From Jaime, "One of the biggest misconceptions of location photography is thinking you need a tropical island, or an amazing mansion to use as a setting. The fact is, we are all surrounded with an overwhelming amount of interesting places to use as locations...you just need to learn to see them".

And learning to see is exactly what you will be doing. Ibarra and Martin take you on a behind-the-scenes video field trip, and teach you how easy it is, no matter where you are, to find interesting, compelling and beautiful settings for your photographs.

The Art of Location Photography will be released on June 29th, 2010. The high definition video will be made available as downloadable content, and will include several high resolution, before-and-after photos from each of the locations featured in the lesson. Also included is an in-depth interview with Ibarra, Martin, and internationally published model, Lauren Calaway.

The price of the video is $100 (US), but if you pre-order by June 7th, it is yours for only $50 (US).

*Note from me: send me a note here on DA, and I will provide you with information on how to pre-order the video. Thanks!

I've been friends with Jean-Philippe for 4 years or so.

During this time, he has helped me get through 2 train-wreck break-ups, given me rides to countless places, bought me more than a few meals, helped me move, and shared many stories that only a man from France could tell (because he is)...but not least-important, he has been a tremendous factor in the advancement of my own photography and continues to generously share a wealth of photography knowledge with me.

If you see the sudden (and out-of-the-norm, for me) appearance of studio lighting in my work, you can attribute him for that

Oh, and he makes a mean Crêpe, too (of course).

Please visit his DA profile and show some love »

Just a quick update...

In the past week alone, I have received 7 publication offers, and I just checked my email an hour ago to find an invitation to do a gallery show in Paris.

All of these things came to me as a direct result of my profile here on DA...my thanks to all of you here who support me & my work

I'll post more as things solidify a bit

I am featured this month on www.nerve.com

Before you click on the link above, I should tell you that you have to be a premium (paid) member to see the feature, but I think I'm permitted to share with you the introduction of the feature:

"While some nude photography can be so static you think it's still life, you could never make that mistake with Jaime Ibarra's captivating shots. Whether it's from unfurling fabric, swinging hair, or the electrifying poses of the beautiful models, there is a fantastic sense of action in each of his photos. These girls are no wallflowers: if there's one thing they know, it's drama" - James Brady Ryan

I'll write more later, but I just wanted to offer my deepest & sincere thanks to everyone that helped me return home.

I'd hug you all if I could...it feels so amazingly good to be home again. It wouldn't have happened without all of you



~Jaime

Hi everyone!

Not even 3 weeks ago, I wrote a journal entry asking for your help with my upcoming move back home to Austin, TX. You can read that journal entry here:
[link]

If you will please excuse the brevity of this entry, I just want to post one last request for your assistance. The move is coming up fast, and I am definitely much better-off (thanks to the DA community) than I was when I posted the original journal entry...but I still could use some donation assistance.

This is a quick-list of incentive points I'm offering to those willing to donate to my Return-to-Austin campaign:

1. [NEW! Just added this one*] Donations of $20 or more get you a cd-quality download of my last CD (originally released in the year 2001) in its entirety (all 12 songs from the original release), as well as a discounted price on my new cd, which is due to be released in the last quarter of 2010. You can listen to samples from my first cd here: [link]


2. Donations of $100 or more get you a copy of my cd (item #1 in this list), and a signed print of my work...any image of mine you would like, either from my website, or my gallery here on DA.


3. Donations of $200 or more get you a copy of my cd (item #1 in this list), a signed print of my work (item #2 in this list), and a signed copy of the upcoming book of my photography (I'm SUPER excited about that, btw!), which is being published in April of this year.


4. I am not opposed to working for money, of course, so I am offering this: I have been teaching my personal editing techniques for a while now. If you are a photographer, and are interested in learning exactly how I do what I do, I am offering a one-on-one session for $300 (usually $450). The session is accomplished quite effectively, using a combination of WebEx screen casting (so you can watch what I'm doing), and telephone (I pay for the phone call, don't worry!), while we both have the same image opened in Photoshop. I am a professional educator, and can effectively convey information in a thorough and easy-to-understand manner. The session typically takes about 2 hours, and covers every detail of how I accomplish the look of my photos. I also include a detailed discussion of my shooting methodology, which plays heavily into the final images I produce. If you ever wanted to learn exactly how I do what I do, this is a great opportunity to do so.
</ul>
*The cd offer was only recently added. If you donated prior to the announcement of the cd incentive, no worries: you will (retroactively) receive the cd, provided you met the minimum $20 qualifier at the time you donated.

If you would like to donate, or have any questions, please send me a message here on DA. I will provide you with all the details

Again...thank you all SO much. The benevolence of the DA community has had more of a positive impact on me than you can imagine. I am truly moved by your kindness.

I'd hug each one of you, if I could...AND bake you a cake. Just be warned: the cake will likely look like a disaster, since I suck at applying the icing

Love you all!

~Jaime